It is really strange that a man from Huangpu and a general of the Kuomintang Central Army defected to Japan because he was outnumbered and surrendered to Chongqing, and after fleeing back to Chongqing, he was not severely punished, but was honored three times, and was praised by Chiang Kai-shek as "a model for contemporary soldiers." This is really a strange thing.
This person is Fang Xianjue.
Fang Xianjue, a native of SuXian County, Anhui Province. In 1926, he graduated from the 3rd Infantry Section of the Whampoa Military Academy, and later entered the 2nd Class of Higher Education of the Whampoa Military Academy and the 4th Class of the B General Officer Class of the Army University.
In 1943, Fang Xianjue was promoted to commander of the 10th Army of the Nationalist Army, and also served as the commander of the Changsha Garrison.
In October 1943, the Battle of Changde began, and the 10th Army came to the aid from Changsha. Fang Xianjue ordered Sun Mingjin, the commander of the Pre-10th Division, to seize the embankment on the south bank of the Zi River first. Sun Mingjin personally led his troops to charge after five consecutive attacks and finally captured the Japanese bridgehead. Sun Mingjin, on the other hand, died heroically while rushing up the river embankment. Subsequently, the 3rd Division of the 10th Army successfully occupied Deshan and received the remnants of the 57th Division to break through the encirclement, making a meritorious achievement. This war party felt that the threat shocked the whole country, and Chiang Kai-shek specially gave him a plaque with the inscription "Loyalty and Righteousness Express Heaven and Earth."
After the war, The division commander Sun Mingjin was buried on the southern slope of Hengshan Mountain in Nanyue. When the coffin went down the well, Fang Xianjue personally pulled the rope by hand and put the coffin under the well. He also swore an oath in front of the coffin of Master Sun Mingjin to "kill all the Japanese Kou to avenge the death of the soldiers and civilians."
In the winter of 1943, the whole army was transferred to Hengshan to reorganize, and Fang Xianjue's family lived near Huangchaling in the southern suburbs of Hengyang City, and when he got off the train station, the sound of firecrackers in the city resounded through the sky. People from all walks of life in the city, presided over by Mayor Zhao Junmai, held a grand consolation banquet in the auditorium of the Ministry of Social Services.
After the Battle of Changde, the reputation of the 10th Army grew, and Fang Xianjue also began to be a little arrogant. Not only did he ask for a small wife, but even Xue Yue, who was the commander of the theater, did not pay attention to it.
Xue Yue didn't have any good feelings for fang Xianjue, but because of Fang Xianjue's reputation, he couldn't move him for a while. So Xue Yue decided to take the method of seeping sand and digging the corners of the wall to set up obstacles for Fang Xianjue. He first appointed Rong Youliu as the chief of staff of the 10th Army, and when the commander of the 190th Division was vacant, he named Rong Youliu to take over as the commander of the division. Although Fang Xianjue ostensibly accepted this appointment, he vacated Rong Youluo's position as division commander shortly after the Battle of Hengyang began. Others, appointed by Xue Yue, either removed them from their posts, brought to justice, or sentenced them.
This practice made Xue Yue angry, and he persuaded Chiang Kai-shek to order Fang Xianjue's dismissal as military commander and transfer to the senior counselor of the Military Commission, and also appointed Xue Yue's confidant, Fang Riying, a Guangdong native, as the commander of the 10th Army.
Fang Xian felt angry, but did not dare to be angry with Chiang Kai-shek, so he had to go home after completing the handover procedures.
Just when Xue Yue thought that the 10th Army was about to arrive, the Japanese army advanced to Wuhan at the forward command post in Nanjing in late May 1944, and its commander-in-chief, Junliu, began to launch the Battle of Yuxianggui against the Nationalist army. On May 18, the Japanese army captured Changsha, and then successively captured Liling, Youxian and other places, and the arrow pointed directly at Hengyang.
In the headquarters of the 10th Army in Hengyang, the successor commander had not yet arrived, and Xue Yue saw that the situation was critical, so he had to pull down his face and personally order Fang Xianjue, who was still waiting for the handover procedures at his home in Hengyang, to act as the military affairs of the 10th Army and was responsible for commanding the defense of Hengyang.
Fang Xianjue could not resign. Xue Yue had no choice but to ask Chiang Kai-shek, the chairman of the cppcc committee in Chongqing. Chiang Kai-shek personally called Fang Xianjue and asked him to be in danger.
Fang Xianjue led the 10th Army, from June 22 to August 8, 1944, guarded Hengyang for forty-seven days, and the fierce battle moved the people of the time. However, Fang Xianjue failed to kill Chengren, and at the last moment, he surrendered to the Japanese army, which was regrettable.
What is even more puzzling is that after Fang Xianjue fled back to Chongqing from the Japanese-occupied area, Chiang Kai-shek and the military command not only did not punish him, but praised him as a "model of contemporary soldiers" and awarded him three times: on February 19, 1945, he awarded fang Xianjue the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun, making him the 129th recipient of the medal. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Fang Xianjue was awarded the Order of Loyalty (October 10, 1945) and the Victory Medal (May 5, 1946).
At a meeting, Wang Kunlun, a veteran of the Kuomintang, once accused Chiang Kai-shek of "not distinguishing between meritorious deeds and crimes": "If you think that Fang Xianjue has made meritorious contributions to defending the city, the reward is still light; if you think that the enemy is guilty, you should not go unpunished." ”
Fang Xianjue later came to Taiwan and was depressed. In 1968, Fang Xianjue, because he could not bear the accusations of his surrender to Japan, in a fit of rage, cut his hair and became a monk, and later died in Taipei in 1983. (Liu Jixing)
